Through our legislative advocacy program, we empower parents, students and educators to share how policy and funding decisions effect their children and school community. The positive impact of engaged parents is powerful and when we come together with one voice to share concerns and collaborate on solutions, we can drive positive change that extends beyond just our local school community.

For the past 120 years Virginia PTA has brought families of all backgrounds together with one shared goal, to support the academic success, health and safety of all students through family engagement and advocacy. As volunteers and elected leaders in our school communities, we observe first-hand the challenges that are faced by students and families. Our voice is needed more than ever. We invite you to join us to #TakeAction4Kids! 

WHAT WE ACCOMPLISHED 2020-2025

ACADEMIC SUCCESS

✅ Lift the Cap on Essential Support Staff ($375M): Support staff provide personalized support for students and are essential in meeting the academic, social, and emotional learning needs of students in and out of the classroom. In 2009 the General Assembly placed an arbitrary cap on state funding for school support positions that help maintain school safety, keep school facilities functional, aid teachers in the classroom, promote healthy learning environments and help address unique challenges faced by students from low-income families. In 2023, following a decade of advocacy, we won a partial lifting the support cap ($152M) and effective establishment of a staffing ratio of 20 support staff to 1,000 students. In 2025 we won a full lifting of the support cap ($223M) with establishment of a staffing ratio of 27.89 staff positions per 1,000 students beginning in FY 2026. Removal of this arbitrary cap on essential school staff returns flexible spending to our localities and starts to restore the practice of allocating state funding based on the actual costs of running a high-quality school.

✅ Special Education Reform & Funding ($52.8M): Approximately 14-15% of Virginia’s K-12 students receive special education services. In 2024 Virginia PTA successfully advocated for legislation (HB1089/SB220) to introduce an IEP template, a dispute resolution process, Regional Special Education Support Centers, increased data reporting, and new resources for families. In 2025 we focused on closing the funding gap for special education services. This resulted in the establishment of a supplemental per pupil add-on funding for Special Education students of 4.75% for students receiving Level 1 services and a 5.25% add-on for students receiving Level 2 services. This 10% increase in special education funding is a significant step to close the $480M gap in state special education funding.

✅ Funding for High Poverty Schools (Increase Add Risk Add-On): The At-Risk Add-On program provides supplemental funding for school divisions with high concentrations of students living in poverty. Approximately 43% of Virginia’s total enrollment is considered ‘at-risk’. The 2023 budget included $37M and the 2024 budget included $371M in At-Risk Add-On funding. Budget language additionally implemented key reforms to correct outdated formulas that determined the number of students living in poverty, however, legislation is still needed to make those formula changes permanent.

✅ Virginia Literacy Act: The Virginia Literacy Act, passed in 2022 and expanded in 2023 and 2024 introduced a comprehensive statewide change to literacy instruction for grades K-8. Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, school divisions must use scientifically-based reading research and evidence-based practices for reading instruction, intervention, and assessments. The 2022 legislation also included new parent resources and dedicated funding for reading specialists for grades K-3. Legislation in 2023 included development of a new middle school literacy screener. Reading specialists were expanded in 2023 ($54.1M) and 2024 ($61.2M) to provide a reading specialist for students in Kindergarten through grade five at a ratio of 1:550 and  1:1,100 for students in grades six through eight.

✅ Math Initiative & Grant Program ($12M): In 2025 Virginia PTA successfully advocated for programs to improve match instruction including establishment of a Mathematics Advisory Task Force, development of a micro-credential program for math specialists, online professional development for advanced math instruction, expanded Virtual Virginia math courses, and school division grants to provide curriculum support and innovative strategies to improve achievement in schools with SOLs in the bottom 25th percentile.

✅ Early Childhood Education Access and Quality: Legislation provided emergency funding to stabilize access to childcare, as well as implement a Early Childhood Education pilot with expanded access for three-year-olds served by the Virginia Preschool Initiative ($47M) as well as implementing new quality measures.

✅ English Language Learner Funding: Virginia’s students speak more than 240 languages, and about 14% of our students are English Learners.  Virginia’s 2024-2026 biennium budget included $74.1M to provide additional English Learner teachers and transition to a new tiered-staffing standard based on student English proficiency levels.

✅ Full-time Principals: The daily dedicated leadership and safety oversight that a full-time principal provides is critical to safe learning conditions, instructional support and teacher retention. Focused advocacy by Virginia PTA brought this issue to the forefront to ensure that every school in Virginia, regardless of size, now has access to a full -time principal.

✅ Learning Loss Recovery: In 2021 Virginia PTA helped ensure school divisions retained critical funding to facilitate learning recovery and infrastructure improvements that facilitated a safe return to school.

HEALTH & SAFETY

✅ Mental Health & Specialized Support Staff. Secured funding to lower the ratio of school counselors to students to 1:325, bringing Virginia closer to the nationally-recommended standard of 1:250. In 2021 we secured the establishment of a staffing ratio for three specialized student support positions per 1,000 students. Specialized support positions can include essential positions such as school nurses, school social workers, school psychologists and behavior analysts. In 2025 we helped legislation pass that allows mobile clinics to provide school-based care and allows school divisions to contract with a mental telehealth providers to provide telehealth services to students (with parent permission).

✅ Healthy School Meals: Helped enact legislation that ensures eligible schools participate in the Community Eligibility Program, which allows qualifying schools and school divisions to offer breakfast and lunch to all students at no charge. We also and advocated for policies that alleviate meal debt and actively supported the pandemic waivers that provided free school meal waivers through summer 2022 including grab-and-go options and $8.2 million of state funding to help local school divisions eliminate the cost of school meals for students who are eligible for reduced-price meals based on federal income criteria.

✅ School Safety: Virginia PTA has actively advocated for the passage of the federal Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and $6.5M of state funding for gun violence prevention programs through the Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS). During the 2023 session Virginia PTA advocated for increased funding and resources to improve school campus safety.

✅ Consumer Data Protection: In 2024 through successful advocacy, Virginia’s Consumer Data Protection Act was amended to prohibits targeted advertising, sale of data, profiling users or collecting geolocation data of children under age of 13. Additional advocacy is needed to raise the age to 16 to protect teen data privacy.

✅ Online Safety. In 2025 Virginia PTA advocated for the establishment of cyberbullying policies (SB908), an Internet Safety Advisory Council (SB905), and limits on social media for students under 16 years old (SB854).

✅ Opioid Overdose Prevention: In 2024 Virginia PTA advocated for new legislation that required the Virginia Department of Education to establish guidelines for notifying parents of school related overdoses, and develop educational materials for grades 9-12 on opioid identification, prevention and reversal, as well as school based training and required stocking of naloxone in school health clinics. In 2025 we advocated for 24-hour parent notification of confirmed/suspected school-connected overdoses.

SCHOOL BUILDING INFRASTRUCTURE

✅ Building Renovations: In 2022 we won a historic $1.25 billion for school building repair/renovation and construction as well as the development of standards for the maintenance and operations of public-school buildings. In 2024 we were successful in advocating for $250 million in school construction loans for the Literary Fund and $80 million per year for the School Construction Assistance Program. In 2025 we successfully advocated for an additional $150M for school construction grants.

✅ Broadband: In 2021, the VAPTA advocated  for budget amendments that secured a historic $100M for VATI; we also advocated for legislation that requires creation of a statewide broadband map detailing served and unserved areas and expands eligibility for VATI funds. This funding is helping extend broadband service to underserved communities, providing equity in internet access and educational opportunity for students and families throughout the Commonwealth.

Learn more about our current call to action and join us to continue to drive positive change for Virginia’s students.